Well, in true 2020 fashion, December was full of surprises -- one of the members in my shop tested positive for covid which shut our doors for two weeks (everyone is doing great with only one other positive case) and a blown bandsaw motor (...one month past warranty) meant not nearly as much progress as I had hoped! Thankfully things are settling back down and there are some cool new developments with this build.
First up is bracing the top...
More often than not I like to utilize a lattice pattern when I build an elevated neck...
Gluing on a piece of yellow cedar for an arm bevel and a small section of liners in the cutaway section...
And now for the twist! My client wants a pickup but will rarely use it and we've been discussing potential ways to hide the jack when not in use. I had a few ideas but eventually he realized that he doesn't ever play standing up or with a strap. So, we decided to recess the whole thing!
First it's a box...
And then of course a bunch of steps to make it pretty...
More pretty-ification...
First attempt at fitting an insert and making sure it all works...
And here's the finished cover with inlaid stone and an elk antler line running down the middle...
Similar to how I've been doing my truss rod covers, this piece is held on by two magnets and flips up when you press on one side (I'll include a little demo video in my next post). Also, there are two magnets hidden next to the cavity so that when you remove the cover it can be held in place. I think with a slight modification to a strap you could essentially thread onto the pickup jack so hopefully this idea won't be limited to strapless playing!
Happy New Year to all and there'll be more on this build soon!